When a Control Panel item is opened through a command line, you can instruct it to open to a particular tab in the item. Note that due to the addition and removal of certain tabs in some Windows Vista Control Panel items, the numbering of the tabs might have changed from that in Microsoft Windows XP. For instance, the following example launches the fourth tab in the System item on Windows XP and the third tab on Windows Vista.

Windows Vista Canonical Names

In Windows Vista, the preferred method of launching a Control Panel item from a command line is to use the Control Panel item's canonical name. A canonical name is a non-localized string that the Control Panel item declares in the registry. The value of using a canonical name is that it abstracts the module name of the Control Panel item. An item can be implemented in a .dll and later be reimplemented as a .exe or change its module name. As long as the canonical name remains the same, then any program that opens it by using that canonical name does not need to be updated to account for the changes.

By convention, the canonical name is "CorporationName.ControlPanelItemName".

The following example shows how an application can start the Control Panel item Windows Update with WinExec.

The following canonical names are defined for Control Panel items on Windows Vista. Not all Control Panel items are available on all varieties of Windows Vista and some Control Panel items may appear only when appropriate hardware is detected. These canonical names do not change for different languages. They are always in English, even if the system's language is non-English.

Microsoft.AddHardware

Microsoft.AdministrativeTools

Microsoft.AudioDevicesAndSoundThemes

Microsoft.AutoPlay

Microsoft.BackupAndRestoreCenter

Microsoft.BitLockerDriveEncryption

Microsoft.Bluetooth

Microsoft.CardSpace

Microsoft.ColorManagement

Microsoft.DateAndTime

Microsoft.DefaultPrograms

Microsoft.DeviceManager

Microsoft.EaseOfAccessCenter

Microsoft.FolderOptions

Microsoft.Fonts

Microsoft.GameControllers

Microsoft.GetPrograms

Microsoft.GetProgramsOnline

Microsoft.IndexingOptions

Microsoft.Infrared

Microsoft.InternetOptions

Microsoft.iSCSIInitiator

Microsoft.Keyboard

Microsoft.MobilityCenter

Microsoft.Mouse

Microsoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter

Microsoft.OfflineFiles

Microsoft.ParentalControls

Microsoft.PenAndInputDevices

Microsoft.PeopleNearMe

Microsoft.PerformaceInformationAndTools

Microsoft.Personalization

Microsoft.PhoneAndModemOptions

Microsoft.PowerOptions

Microsoft.Printers

Microsoft.ProblemReportsAndSolutions

Microsoft.ProgramsAndFeatures

Microsoft.RegionalAndLanguageOptions

Microsoft.ScannersAndCameras

Microsoft.SecurityCenter

Microsoft.SpeechRecognitionOptions

Microsoft.SyncCenter

Microsoft.System

Microsoft.TabletPCSettings

Microsoft.TaskbarAndStartMenu

Microsoft.TextToSpeech

Microsoft.UserAccounts

Microsoft.WelcomeCenter

Microsoft.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade

Microsoft.WindowsDefender

Microsoft.WindowsFirewall

Microsoft.WindowsSideShow

Microsoft.WindowsSidebarProperties

Microsoft.WindowsUpdate

New Commands for Windows Vista

On Windows Vista, some options that were accessed by a .cpl module on Windows XP are now implemented as .exe files. This provides added security by allowing standard users to be prompted to provide administrator credentials when trying to launch the files. Options that do not require extra security are accessed by the same command lines that were used in Windows XP. The following is a list of commands used in Windows Vista to access specific tabs of Control Panel items: